The Mira Road police are on the lookout for five men who allegedly bullied a 11-year-old boy for chanting the slogan Jai Shri Ram. According to the police the matter was reported from a housing society in the Kanakia area of Mira Road on Sunday night (Holika Dahan Day). The boy (name withheld) was returning home after buying milk at around 9 pm. He greeted the watchman by saying Jai Shri Ram.
The accused (in the mid 20’s) who apparently overheard his greeting started following him and barged into the complex by breaking open the biometric enabled door. The entire sequence of events was captured in the closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras installed in the premises of the housing society. They accosted the terrified boy and reprimanded him for chanting such slogans, before hurriedly leaving the place.
Boy's father registers complaint
After learning about the incident, the boy’s father immediately rushed home and later registered a complaint at the Mira Road police station. An offence under sections 448 (house trespass), 295-A (deliberate and malicious act intended to outrage religious feelings), 153-A (promoting enmity between two groups on grounds of religion), 143 (unlawful assembly of the IPC and relevant sections of the Maharashtra Police Act, 1951 has been registered against five people who are yet to be identified and arrested. Further investigations were on.
